A youth has been jailed for 10 years for raping his nine-year-old relative by a Delhi court which said the offence was "quite grave".
The court awarded the jail term to the 26-year-old youth, a resident of north west Delhi, and also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, after rejecting his submission that he was falsely implicated saying a girl would be extremely reluctant even to admit that any such incident had taken place.
"I agree with the contention of the public prosecutor for the State that the act of convict was quite grave as he has committed rape with a young girl of less than 10 years of age and left the scar which will remain with her throughout her life.
"Such kind of offence are increasing in the society, but at the same time, I cannot lose sight of the fact that, convict has a wife and old parents to look after, therefore, taking into accounts aggravating and mitigating circumstances, I sentence the convict for 10 years rigorous imprisonment under Section 376(2)(f) (raping a girl who is less than 12-year-old) IPC with fine of Rs 5,000," Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Kumar said.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place in August 2011, when the minor was alone in her house as her mother had gone to hospital where her father was admitted. Her sisters had gone to their shop.
The youth, who was her relative and was living in the neighbourhood, came to her house and took her to a neighbour's bathroom where he raped her.
The girl said he had also gagged her so that she could not raise an alarm and when she tried to scream, he threatened to kill her, police said.
Later on, she told her mother and sisters about the incident and they called the police following which he was arrested.
The youth, however, claimed innocence saying he was falsely implicated with malafide intentions.
The court rejected his submission saying he failed to prove his defence and that unless an offence has really been committed, a girl would be extremely reluctant even to admit that any such incident had taken place which is likely to reflect on her chastity.
She would also be conscious of the danger of being ostracised by the society, it said.
